Leg spin

Cricket seems to be a game that is monotonous at first look, but it isn’t true. In fact, in this sport, there is not only a large list of important and strict rules, but also a number of techniques for executing strikes and serves. It is possible for cricket players to achieve great outcomes that are even tough to conceive if they work hard to improve their abilities.
One of the most common types of bowling is Leg spin. Professional cricketers use it, and the high efficiency of Leg spin performance can be achieved only after years of training. In this article, you will learn all the details about this type of bowling, which famous bowlers used this technique, and also read about how to perform it.
Leg Spin: Details About The Type of Bowling
Despite the fact that it is quite difficult to explain cricket terminology without having the ability to show it, we will make an effort to discuss it using as simple words as possible.
When the ball is served on the leg-stamp line, leg spin occurs because the ball begins to fly in the direction of the off-stamp after it has made contact with the pitch.
If you look at it from the perspective of a right-handed hitter, the ball should first fly to the left, and then it should fly to the right (or away from it). From this perspective, the bowler perceives everything in the opposite direction. There are many other types of bowling, but this particular one is considered to be one of the most challenging of all of them.
Bowlers who are highly qualified and have leg spin are also capable of doing more sophisticated and intricate variations of this technique. For instance, this includes Googly, which is a very uncommon kind of cricket equipment seeing on the field. Only a small percentage of cricket players are able to acquire it. There is also a well-known sophisticated version known as the flipper, which is another variation. Additionally, only a select number of the most renowned bowlers in the world have mastered it. Among them are Abdul Qadir, Anil Kumble, Shane Warne, and Mushtaq Ahmed.
There are some sites that use the phrase “leg spin” as a synonym for “leg break.” This is an interesting fact. On the other hand, in many locations, it is common practice to use the term “leg spin” in a more general meaning, which encompasses all of the many kinds of serves that are executed by a leg spinner, including deliveries that do not involve your legs breaking.
Leg Spin: The Technique of Performance
Obviously, the analysis of this phrase would not be considered comprehensive if it did not include a description of the leg spin method or its associated technique. For a more comprehensive understanding, we suggest getting in touch with cricket coaches or viewing a video on YouTube. This is because words alone are not sufficient to convey the whole sense of the situation. Despite this, we continued to make an effort to describe the mechanism behind the execution of two distinct variations of this concept: leg break and leg spinning.
A leg break may be performed by gripping a cricket ball in the palm of your hand and allowing its seam to pass under all of your fingers. This will allow you to break your leg. When the projectile is released, the wrist begins to spin to the left, and the ring finger begins to click on the ball. This causes the ball to rotate in the opposite direction of the clock when seen from behind.
For leg-spinning, the ball is placed in the palm of the hand so that the seam is parallel to the palm. After that, the first two fingers are stretched out and gently compress the ball, while the third and fourth fingers are brought together and pressed on the edge of the ball. The initial bend of the ring finger should be able to grasp the seam, and the thumb that is lying on the side should be oriented towards the bowler, but it should not impose any pressure.
The ring finger is responsible for the majority of the spin that occurs when the ball is served. When the ball is released, the wrist is cocked as it drops below the hip and rotates rapidly from right to left, adding further rotation to the movement. Throwing the missile into the air ensures that it will fly. Whenever the ball is launched, the batter will be able to see the hand that is facing him with the palm facing him.
The Most Famous Leg Spin Bowlers
This method is used in a variety of different ways by each leg spin bowler. Some people have more talents than others, while others have less skills, and yet others do not like it at all. On the other hand, there are some players who are able to execute this method, and they have indelibly etched their names into the records of cricket history. Undoubtedly, there are a great number of them. However, we shall discuss the most important individuals in the following order:
- Shane Warne (Australia). Undoubtedly, this man is one of the best bowlers who possess Leg spin in history. It is noteworthy that the Australian athlete did not start his career with the best result, but with hard work, he was able to make a real revolution in Leg spin, which in the 1990s was considered an endangered variety of bowling due to the complexity of the performance. Take, for example, the magnificent “ball of the century” with which Warne brought out the captain of the English national team Mike Gatting in 1993. If you are not aware of this and have never seen this moment, you can easily find it on the YouTube video service. In addition, Warne took 708 test wickets (the second highest performance of all time) and is also considered one of the five Wisden Cricketers of the Century.
- Bernard Bosanquet (England). The main merit of this person is not only the skill of performing Leg spin, but also the creation of such an unusual and complex technique as Googly. Naturally, his contribution to the history of cricket is very significant.
- Abdul Qadir (Pakistan). In the 1970s and 1980s, it was believed that the Leg spin would disappear very soon. But it was Qadir, who is a master of this technique, who tried to keep it in cricket. Surprisingly, he succeeded, and then the baton was picked up by Shane Warne, about whom we told above.
Now you know everything about Leg spin. To make your idea of this kind of bowling only stronger, we recommend watching video collections with its demonstration on YouTube; some of the serves are really impressive.